It was “unfortunate” and “disappointing” to some senior-level staff members of the Episcopal Church Center that the Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk, Bishop of New York, did not first consult with the Executive Council Committee on Social Responsibility in Investments (SRI) before July 21 when he publicly accused it of promoting “divestment from the State of Israel.”

The SRI committee, which is composed of 10 members appointed jointly by the Presiding Bishop and the president of the House of Deputies, is conducting a 12-month study at which time it will recommend “appropriate action” where the corporate investments of the Episcopal Church “support the occupation of Palestinian lands and violence against innocent Israelis,” but that is not divestment or even a “slippery slope” leading toward it, according to the Rt. Rev. C. Christopher Epting, deputy for ecumenical and interfaith relations at the Episcopal Church Center.

“Whenever the word ‘divestment’ is used in the Church today it causes all sorts of understandable problems in the Jewish Community,” Bishop Epting said. “It’s unfortunate that word was used. I’m not for divestment personally. We need to be careful in how we use language. We want people to give this [proposal] a fair hearing.”

The Rev. Canon Brian Grieves, director of peace and justice ministries at the Episcopal Church Center, said it was “disappointing” that Bishop Sisk chose to characterize the work of the SRI as a “slippery slope” leading to divestment, especially since the study is still underway. The committee is scheduled to report its conclusions to Executive Council during its next meeting, scheduled Oct. 7-10 in Las Vegas. The options available to council include drafting a resolution for churchwide consideration by the next General Convention which meets June 13-21, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.

“Whatever SRI recommends will be based on a sound and thorough vetting of the issue,” Canon Grieves said. “We are not in any way singling out Israel in the careful work that is being done.”

Canon Grieves also defended the work of the Anglican Peace and Justice Network (APJN). Last month in Nottingham, England, both the APJN and SRI were commended in a resolution passed by the Anglican Consultative Council. The APJN report and the SRI proposal have been criticized by a number of interfaith leaders, including several bishops of the Episcopal Church, as a subtle form of anti-Semitism, because they hold the Nation of Israel to a higher standard of conduct on human rights, a charge Canon Grieves dismissed as “reprehensible.”

“For years we have had resolutions on other countries for their labor standards, their environmental standards and their human rights standards,” he said. “This is a red herring.”

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